Tomatoes

Vegetables

Tomatoes.

Summer's sweetest gift ripens warm in your palm, bursting with concentrated sunshine

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Tomatoes recipes

4 recipes featuring Tomatoes from our community of creators.

Roasted Pumpkin and Pumpkin Seed Salsa (Sikil Pak)

by Gabe Erales

Shigeyo's Tomato Salad

by Leanne Valenti

White Wine Braised Mustard Greens

by Jess Simpkin

Tomato & Queso Fresco Salad

by Fermín Núñez

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Before You Cook

Storage, prep & technique

Essential tips for handling Tomatoes.

Sharp Knife Essential

Always use a sharp knife when cutting tomatoes - dull blades crush the delicate cell structure, causing juice loss and mushy texture. A sharp serrated knife works well for slicing, while a thin chef's knife handles dicing cleanly.

Never Refrigerate Ripe

Cold temperatures break down the cell walls that give tomatoes their texture and mute their flavor compounds. Store ripe tomatoes at room temperature and use within a few days for best taste and texture.

Blanching for Peeling

Score an X on the bottom of each tomato, then plunge into boiling water for 30-60 seconds until skins loosen. Transfer immediately to ice water - the skins will slip off easily for smooth sauces and soups.

Salt Before Serving

Salt sliced tomatoes 15-20 minutes before serving to draw out excess moisture and concentrate flavors. This prevents soggy sandwiches and intensifies the tomato's natural sweetness and acidity.

Low Heat Concentration

Cook tomato sauces over gentle heat to avoid bitter, acidic flavors that develop with high temperatures. Long, slow cooking allows natural sugars to caramelize and acids to mellow into complex depth.

Core Properly

Remove the entire core including the hard white center that extends into the fruit. Cut around the stem end at an angle, removing all tough, flavorless tissue that can make dishes stringy.

Seasonality & sourcing

Find Tomatoes near you

Discover farms, markets, and retailers with Tomatoes in your area and check seasonal availability.

Set your location above to see markets and retailers that carry Tomatoes.

Tomatoes Trivia

Things worth knowing about Tomatoes.

Surprising facts, culinary wisdom, and nutritional highlights that make tomatoes a remarkable ingredient.

Why were tomatoes once called 'poison apples' in Europe?

Wealthy Europeans eating off pewter plates got lead poisoning from tomatoes' acidity leaching the metal. The poor, eating from wooden plates, had no such problems. Class differences literally shaped tomato reputation for centuries.

What makes an heirloom tomato genetically different?

Heirlooms are open-pollinated varieties that breed true from saved seeds, unlike hybrids which won't reproduce their parent's traits. Each variety carries unique genetic signatures developed over generations of careful selection by farmers and gardeners.

Why do grocery store tomatoes taste like cardboard?

Commercial tomatoes are picked green and gassed with ethylene to turn red, but this only changes color, not flavor. True ripening on the vine develops the complex sugars and acids that create tomato's distinctive taste.

“A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins”

— Laurie Colwin, Home Cooking, 1988

What gives tomatoes their umami depth?

Tomatoes contain natural glutamates, the same compounds that make parmesan and mushrooms so savory. As tomatoes ripen and concentrate through cooking, these glutamates intensify, explaining why tomato paste adds such richness to dishes.

How do tomato flowers self-pollinate without wind?

Tomato flowers use 'buzz pollination' - they require vibration to release pollen from their cone-shaped anthers. Bumblebees grab the flower and vibrate their flight muscles, shaking pollen loose in a technique called sonication.

Where did tomatoes really originate?

Wild tomatoes evolved in the Andes mountains of Peru and Ecuador, where cherry-sized ancestors still grow wild. The Aztecs were the first to domesticate larger varieties in Mexico, calling them 'xitomatl' - the source of our word tomato.

About

The story

The morning sun catches dewdrops on sprawling vines heavy with fruit, some still green and firm, others blushed with the first hint of color that promises August's bounty. Walk through any serious farmer's field in late summer and you'll understand why growers speak of tomatoes with something approaching reverence - these plants represent months of careful tending, from tiny seedlings started under lights in February to the sprawling jungle that now demands daily harvest.

No other crop bridges the gap between gardener and cook quite like tomatoes. They arrive at market with soil still clinging to their stems, carrying the distinct terroir of each farm - the Cherokee Purples from the sandy creek bottom, the San Marzanos from the hillside plot with morning shade, the Yellow Brandywines that somehow taste different when grown in last year's compost. Each variety tells the story of seeds passed down through generations, of farmers who understand that real flavor develops only when fruit ripens fully on the vine. In the kitchen, tomatoes transform with heat into something entirely different yet essentially themselves - the bright acidity mellowing into deep complexity, the flesh breaking down to release concentrated sweetness that forms the backbone of countless dishes. This is why Italian cooks treasure their San Marzanos, why Southern gardeners guard their Cherokee Purple seeds, why every serious cook knows the difference between a tomato picked yesterday and one shipped from a thousand miles away.

Peak Season Timing

True tomato season runs from July through September in most temperate regions. The best fruit comes in August when plants have developed full root systems and consistent warm weather allows proper ripening.

Optimal Growing Temperature

Tomatoes need soil temperatures above 60°F and air temperatures between 70-85°F for best fruit development. Cold nights below 50°F can cause poor fruit set and flavor development.

Water Sensitivity

Inconsistent watering causes blossom end rot and cracking in ripe fruit. The best growers maintain steady soil moisture throughout the growing season, never letting plants wilt or sit in waterlogged soil.

Variety Count

Over 10,000 tomato varieties exist worldwide, ranging from tiny current tomatoes smaller than grapes to massive beefsteaks weighing over two pounds. Each variety evolved for specific climates, uses, and flavor profiles.

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